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US helped track Hezbollah rocket, drone attacks against Israel, says defence official
The United States helped track the barrage of rockets and drones launched by Hezbollah against Israel, but was not involved in strikes in Lebanon or in shooting down incoming projectiles, a US defence official said on Sunday. The news came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Sunday’s strikes in Lebanon were “not the final word” in his country’s military campaign against Lebanese armed group Hezbollah. “We are striking Hezbollah with surprising, crushing blows … and, I repeat, this is not the final word,” Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting. Read our blog to see how the day’s events unfolded.
Issued on: 25/08/2024 – 07:07
Modified: 25/08/2024 – 13:04
1 min
Smoke billows from an area targeted by an Israeli airstrike on the southern Lebanese village of Khiam on August 25, 2024.
Smoke billows from an area targeted by an Israeli airstrike on the southern Lebanese village of Khiam on August 25, 2024, amid escalations in the ongoing cross-border tensions as fighting continues between Israel and Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP) AFP – RABIH DAHER
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Summary:
The Israeli military launched strikes in Lebanon on Sunday after detecting preparations for “large-scale” attacks by Hezbollah, said the Israeli military. Three people were killed in the strikes on southern Lebanon, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
The United States helped track the barrage of rockets and drones launched by Hezbollah against Israel, but was not involved in strikes in Lebanon or in shooting down incoming projectiles, a US defence official said on Sunday.
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu warned that Sunday’s strikes in Lebanon were “not the final word” in his country’s military campaign against Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.
Hezbollah issued a statement shortly after the Israeli strikes announcing large-scale drone and rocket launches targeting deep into Israeli territory in retaliation for the death of its military commander in an Israeli strike last month.
At least 40,405 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and 93,468 wounded in Israel’s war in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave. The Hamas-led October 7 attacks resulted in the deaths of more than 1,190 people, mostly civilians, according to official Israeli figures. Some 250 people were taken hostage, with about 120 remaining in Gaza. Many have been declared dead by Israeli authorities.
Last to first
9 hours ago
Sirens heard south of Tel Aviv as Hamas says fires rocket at city
Hamas said it fired a rocket at Tel Aviv on Sunday, while the Israeli military said it landed “in an open area” in Rishon LeTsiyon, a city located south of the commercial hub.
“Following the siren that sounded in Rishon LeTsiyon, one projectile was identified crossing from the southern Gaza Strip and falling in an open area in the area of Rishon LeTsiyon,” the military said in a statement.
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11 hours ago
Hamas official says delegation left Cairo after meeting truce mediators
A Hamas official said on Sunday the group’s delegation left Cairo after meeting with Egyptian and Qatari mediators trying to negotiate a ceasefire in the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.
“The Hamas delegation left Cairo tonight, after meeting with Egyptian and Qatari mediators who briefed them on the results of the latest negotiations,” Izzat al-Rishq, said in a statement.
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11 hours ago
Israel says more polio vaccines are delivered to Gaza, where aid groups seek pause in fighting
Israel’s military on Sunday said polio vaccines for more than 1 million people had been delivered to Gaza, after the first confirmed case of the disease in the territory in a quarter-century.
It was not immediately clear how, or how quickly, the more than 25,000 vials of vaccine would be distributed in Gaza, where ongoing fighting and unrest have challenged humanitarian efforts during more than 10 months of war.
Other polio cases are suspected across the largely devastated territory after the virus was detected in wastewater in six different locations in July.
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11 hours ago
UN chief urges Hezbollah, Israel to cease hostilities
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is “deeply concerned” by the escalation between Israel and Hezbollah and calls for both parties to immediately return to a cessation of hostilities, his spokesperson said on Sunday.
“These actions put both the Lebanese and Israeli populations at risk, as well as threatening regional security and stability,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.
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12 hours ago
BA, Air France suspend Tel Aviv flights over conflict risk
British Airways and Air France on Sunday suspended flights to Tel Aviv, after the biggest clashes between Israel and Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah armed group since the start of the war in Gaza.
BA said it was suspending its flights to and from Tel Aviv until Wednesday, while the French carrier suspended services to Tel Aviv and Beirut scheduled for Sunday and Monday.
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12 hours ago
Hamas says it rejects new Israeli conditions in Gaza ceasefire talks
Palestinian militant group Hamas is sticking to a July 2 Gaza ceasefire proposal, rejects new Israeli conditions for a ceasefire and says talk of an imminent deal is false, group official Osama Hamdan told Hamas-run Al-Aqsa TV on Sunday.
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12 hours ago
Top US military official arrives in Israel for meetings with senior military officials
Top US military official General C.Q. Brown arrived on Sunday in Israel, hours after major cross-border clashes between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
Brown, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is expected to hold meetings with senior Israeli military officials.
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13 hours ago
British Airways says flights to and from Tel Aviv suspended until Wednesday
British Airways said on Sunday that it was suspending its flights to and from Tel Aviv until Wednesday, after the largest clashes between Israel and Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah armed group since the start of the war in Gaza.
“We’ve been continually monitoring the situation in the Middle East and have taken the operational decision to suspend our flights to and from Tel Aviv up to and including Wednesday 28 August” a spokesman for the airline said. “Safety is always our top priority, and we’re contacting customers to advise them of their travel options.”
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13 hours ago
Britain says escalation in the Middle East must be avoided ‘at all costs’
Britain on Sunday called for restraint in the Middle East, after the largest clashes between Israel and Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah armed group since the start of the war in Gaza.
“Further escalation in the Middle East must be avoided at all costs,” British Foreign Secretary David Lammy posted on X, following a call with Israel’s minister of strategic affairs, Ron Dermer. “I reiterated the UK’s support for Israel’s security, the importance of restraint, the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all hostages.”
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13 hours ago
Hezbollah chief says Sunday attack went as planned, further strikes possible
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Sunday that his group would assess the impact of its rocket and drone attack on Israeli military targets earlier in the day before determining whether it would carry out further attacks to avenge a slain commander.
The leader of the Iran-backed armed group said in a televised address that the group had been able to carry out its attack “as planned,” denying statements by the Israeli military that its pre-emptive strikes had stopped a wider attack.
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13 hours ago
Israel says ‘no hits’ on base near Tel Aviv targeted by Hezbollah
The Israeli army said Hezbollah failed to strike a military intelligence base near Tel Aviv that the Lebanese armed group’s leader said was the target of a rocket and drone barrage on Sunday.
“I can confirm that there were no hits at the Glilot base,” a spokesperson for the Israeli military told AFP.
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13 hours ago
US helped track Hezbollah attacks against Israel: official
The United States helped track the barrage of rockets and drones launched by Hezbollah against Israel, but was not involved in strikes in Lebanon or in shooting down incoming projectiles, a US defense official said.
“The US was not involved in Israel’s preemptive strikes last night. We did provide some ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) support in terms of tracking incoming Lebanese Hezbollah attacks, but did not conduct any kinetic operations as they were not required,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
“We continue to closely monitor the situation and remain well-postured and ready to support the defense of Israel from attacks by Iran and any of its proxies,” the official added.
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14 hours ago
Hezbollah chief says attack targeted Israeli base near Tel Aviv
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said his group’s attack on Israel on Sunday targeted a military intelligence base near Tel Aviv around 100 kilometres (70 miles) from the Israel-Lebanon border.
The “main target for the operation” inside Israel was “the Glilot base — the main Israeli military intelligence base”, Nasrallah said in a televised speech.
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14 hours ago
Israeli cabinet approves 2024 budget increase to fund displaced citizens
Israel’s cabinet on Sunday approved an expansion of 3.4 billion shekels ($923 million) in the 2024 state budget to help fund evacuees until the end of the year, the finance ministry said.
Tens of thousands of Israelis in the north have been displaced into hotels in the wake of daily rocket attacks by Hezbollah since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war that began on October 7.
Those from Gaza border communities are also included in what the cabinet called “conflict zones”.
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14 hours ago
Israel military says navy soldier killed in combat in north, after Hezbollah attack
The Israeli military said a navy soldier was killed and two others wounded in combat in northern Israel Sunday, after the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah fired a barrage of rockets at Israel.
“Petty Officer First Class, David Moshe Ben Shitrit, aged 21 … fell during combat in northern Israel,” the military said in a statement, adding that he was from the navy and that two others were also wounded. It did not give further details.
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14 hours ago
Jordan warns that escalation in Lebanon could lead to regional war
Jordan on Sunday warned that heightened escalation between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah could lead to a “regional war” that would threaten stability.
Foreign ministry spokesperson Sufain Qudah said that Israel’s relentless “aggression” in Gaza and the failure to reach a ceasefire was exposing the region to the dangers of an expansion of the conflict, Jordanian state media reported.
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16 hours ago
Hezbollah official says response to top commander’s killing was ‘delayed by political considerations’
A Hezbollah official said on Sunday that the group’s rocket and drone attack against Israel on Sunday in retaliation for a top commander’s killing last month had been delayed by “political considerations,” chiefly among them the ongoing talks on a ceasefire and hostage release deal for the Gaza Strip.
The official, in written comments shared with media outlets, said the group had “worked” to make sure its response to the killing of Fuad Shukr on July 30 would not trigger a full-scale war.
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16 hours ago
Can Harris win back Michigan’s crucial Muslim vote?
In key US swing state Michigan, Democratic voters of Arab and Middle Eastern heritage say Kamala Harris is going to have to win them back, after they were alienated by President Joe Biden’s handling of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza.
The town of Dearborn, home to 110,000 people and a cultural hub for Arab Americans, could play a decisive role in deciding the fate of the battleground state in November’s presidential election.
Members of the community interviewed by AFP said they were willing to hear what the vice president had to say and weigh their options — a marked change from the outright hostility towards Biden.
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17 hours ago
Israel’s Netanyahu warns strikes in Lebanon ‘not the final word’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Sunday’s strikes in Lebanon were “not the final word” in his country’s military campaign against Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.
“We are striking Hezbollah with surprising, crushing blows … This is another step towards changing the situation in the north and safely returning our residents to their homes. And, I repeat, this is not the final word,” Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting.
He said the military destroyed thousands of “short-range rockets, all of which were intended to harm our civilians and forces in the Galilee”.
“Additionally, the IDF (Israeli military) intercepted all the drones that Hezbollah launched at a strategic target in central Israel,” he said, without identifying what the target was.
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17 hours ago
Egypt’s Sisi warns against Lebanon escalation in top US general meeting
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi warned against further regional escalation on Sunday in a meeting with the United States’ highest-ranking general, as cross-border hostilities between Israel and Lebanon intensified.
Sisi “warned of the dangers of a new front opening in Lebanon and stressed the necessity of preserving Lebanon’s stability and sovereignty”, according to a statement from the president’s office.
His meeting in Egypt with US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Charles “CQ” Brown, the United States’s highest-ranking military officer, came hours after Israel launched air strikes on Lebanon.
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18 hours ago
Hamas says Hezbollah strikes ‘slap in the face’ for Israel
Hamas has hailed Hezbollah’s strikes against Israel, calling it a “strong and focused response”.
“We emphasise that this strong and focused response, which struck deep inside the Zionist entity, is a slap in the face” for the Israeli government, Hamas said in a statement hours after Hezbollah launched a large-scale operation using rockets and drones.
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18 hours ago
Gaza war death toll rises to 40,405
The death toll in Gaza has risen to at least 40,405 since October 7, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.
The toll includes 71 deaths in the previous 24 hours, according to ministry figures, which also list 93,468 people as wounded since the Gaza war began in October.
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19 hours ago
Air France suspends Tel Aviv, Beirut flights at least until Monday
Air France has said it is suspending flights to Tel Aviv and Beirut for at least 24 hours following the latest escalation in the Hezbollah-Israel conflict.
“Flights today and tomorrow are suspended,” a spokesman for the airline said, adding that the suspension could be extended depending on the situation in the Middle East.
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20 hours ago
Yemen’s Houthis hail Hezbollah strikes, renew threat of Israel attack
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels praised attacks by Lebanon’s Hezbollah on Israel Sunday and renewed threats to launch their own attack in response to Israeli strikes on a port in Yemen.
“We congratulate Hezbollah and its Secretary-General on the great and courageous attack carried out by the resistance this morning against the Israeli enemy,” said a Houthi statement, adding that a response to July 20 strikes by Israel on the rebel-run Hodeida port “is definitely coming”.
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20 hours ago
Egypt warns against dangers of opening new war front in Lebanon
Egypt has warned against the dangers of opening a new war front in Lebanon, the foreign ministry said in a statement, which called for stability in the country.
Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has said it will halt the fighting with Israel if there is a ceasefire in Gaza.
Egypt is hosting a new round of talks to try to broker a ceasefire in the 10-month-old Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
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21 hours ago
Developments on Lebanese-Israeli border ‘worrying’, say UN officials
The Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon (UNSCOL) and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) described the developments on the Lebanese-Israeli border as “worrying”, and called on all parties to cease fire and refrain from further escalation, they said in a statement.
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21 hours ago
A ‘step back or an escalation’ in Israel-Hezbollah hostilities?
Reporting from Jerusalem, FRANCE 24’s Irris Makler says Israel was expecting a Hezbollah retaliatory attack following last month’s killing of its senior commander Fuad Shukr.
Sunday’s Hezbollah attack followed reports that the Gaza ceasefire talks in Egypt were “not going well”, says Makler. “Hamas was telling Hezbollah that these talks aren’t going well, you are free to act,” she explains.
With Israel now saying it thwarted the Hezbollah attack and the Lebanese militant group claiming it has “accomplished” its mission, some analysts believe “this phase may be over. But,” she notes, “there’s no guarantees of that. We haven’t yet heard from Iran what it plans to do. So there’s a huge alert here.”
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a day ago
Death toll mounts in Lebanon following Israeli strikes
Lebanon’s health ministry now says three people were killed n Israeli raids in southern Lebanon.
An “Israeli drone strike on a car in the village of Khiam” killed one person, the health ministry said in a statement.
Two people were also killed in an attack on the village of Tiri, the health ministry said.
It had earlier also reported that two people, including a Syrian man, were wounded in “a series of Israeli raids” in the south.
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a day ago
Nasrallah set to deliver televised address, says Hezbollah
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah is set to address “the latest developments” in a televised speech at 6pm local time (1500 GMT) the Lebanese group has said in a statement.
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a day ago
Royal Jordanian airlines suspends flights to Beirut, state news agency says
Jordan’s national carrier Royal Jordanian suspended flights to Beirut on Sunday “due to the current situation”, the state news agency reported without giving an exact time frame for the suspension.
There was no disruption to Jordanian airspace following the latest air attacks by Hezbollah and Israel, Jordanian officials told Reuters.
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a day ago
Situation ‘very alarming’ in southern Lebanon after Israeli pre-emptive strikes
Reporting from Beirut, FRANCE 24’s Rawa Taha says the Israeli air strikes in Lebanon early Sunday, following Hezbollah retaliatory attack for last month’s Israeli assassination of its senior commander, Fuad Shukr, was a “very alarming” development.
Southern Lebanon has been in a “state of war” since October, when the Israel-Hamas war erupted, and Lebanese residents have “really become used to this daily exchange of fire, but nothing on this scale as of yet”, Taha explains.
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a day ago
Israeli delegation to attend Gaza ceasefire talks in Cairo, army radio reports
Israel’s spy chief David Barnea will head an Israeli delegation to the Gaza ceasefire talks in Cairo on Sunday, Israel’s army radio reports, citing diplomatic officials.
On Saturday, Hamas said it was sending delegates to Cairo but would not participate in the discussions. Instead, they would meet with senior Egyptian officials for updates on the negotiations.
The US, Egypt and Qatar have spent months trying to broker an end to the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.
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a day ago
Military operation against Israel ‘accomplished’, says Hezbollah
Hezbollah has said its military operation against Israeli positions was “completed” and has denied “claims” that Israel thwarted the attack.
“Our military operation today is completed and accomplished,” the Lebanese-based group said in a statement. Israeli “claims of pre-emptive action it carried out … and the thwarting of the resistance’s attack are empty claims”, it added.
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a day ago
Israel will ‘do everything’ to restore security in north, says Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has vowed “to do everything” to ensure the security of residents of northern Israel.
“We are determined to do everything to protect our country, return the residents of the north safely to their homes and continue to follow a simple rule: whoever hurts us, we hurt them,” Netanyahu said in a statement issued by his office.
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a day ago
Israeli military says jets destroyed thousands of Hezbollah rocket launcher barrels
Around 100 Israeli fighter jets hit thousands of Hezbollah rocket launcher barrels in southern Lebanon that were aimed for immediate fire towards northern and central Israel, said the IDF in its latest statement.
“Approximately 100 IAF fighter jets … struck and destroyed thousands of Hezbollah rocket launcher barrels that were located and embedded in southern Lebanon,” said the IDF statement.
“Most of these launchers were aimed towards northern Israel and some were aimed towards central Israel.”
More than 40 launch areas in Lebanon were struck during the early morning strikes, the statement added.
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a day ago
One killed in Israeli air strike in southern Lebanese town, Lebanese state media says
An Israeli air strike on a car in the southern Lebanese town of Khiam killed one person, said Lebanon’s state National News Agency (NNA).
Israeli warplanes also fired air-to-ground missiles towards al-Mansouri town in Tyre district, NNA added, with no injuries reported.
It did not provide additional details.
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a day ago
Israel’s Gallant announces 48-hour nationwide state of emergency
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has announced a 48-hour nationwide state of emergency in Israel from 6am local time (0300 GMT) Sunday after the military launched what it called pre-emptive strikes in Lebanon.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s office has said the prime minister and defence minister are holding a Security Cabinet meeting.
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a day ago
Israel aviation authority says flights resume at Ben Gurion airport
Israel’s Civil Aviation Authority has announced the resumption of flights to and from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport after a brief suspension as the Israeli military struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.
Operations at Ben Gurion airport resumed at 7am (04:00 GMT), spokesman Roy Steinmetz said, adding that “planes diverted to other airports will also take off from Ben Gurion again”.
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a day ago
Pentagon chief reaffirms US commitment to Israel’s defense
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart and reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to Israel’s defense, the Pentagon said late on Saturday.
Austin “spoke with Israeli Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant to discuss Israel’s defense against Lebanese (Hezbollah) attacks”, a Pentagon readout of the call said.
“Secretary Austin reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to Israel’s defense against any attacks by Iran and its regional partners and proxies,” it added.
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a day ago
Ben Gurion airport expected to resume operations, airports authority says
Israel’s Ben Gurion airport is expected to resume operations at 0400 GMT on Sunday, the airports authority said, lifting a suspension imposed in response to an attack from Iranian-backed Hezbollah.
“Aircraft that were diverted to alternative airports, including Ramon Airport, will take off and head back to Ben Gurion Airport,” it said.
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a day ago
Hezbollah says ‘enemy sites’ targeted in drone attack on Israel
Shortly after Israel launched heavy strikes in southern Lebanon, Hezbollah announced that it had launched an attack on Israel with a “large number of drones” as an initial response to the killing of Fuad Shukur, a top commander with the group, in a strike in Beirut’s southern suburbs last month.
Hezbollah said the attack was targeting “a qualitative Israeli military target that will be announced later” as well as “targeting a number of enemy sites and barracks and Iron Dome platforms”.
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a day ago
Israelis stage heavy airstrikes in Lebanon and Hezbollah launches drone attack on Israel
Israel launched a series of intense air strikes in southern Lebanon early Sunday in what it said was a pre-emptive strike against the Hezbollah militant group, threatening to trigger a broader regionwide war that could torpedo efforts to forge a ceasefire in Gaza.
The army said Hezbollah was planning to launch a heavy barrage of rockets and missiles towards Israel. The Iranian-backed group had been promising to retaliate for Israel’s assassination of a top commander late last month.
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a day ago
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the conflict in the Middle East.
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About casualty figures from Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry:
Gaza’s health ministry collects data from the enclave’s hospitals and the Palestinian Red Crescent. For more on the health ministry’s casualty figures, click here.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
